Opposition coalition names nominees for president, VP

Opposition coalition 1Sambayan announced on Saturday its list of nominees for the two highest positions in the country, more than two months since the alliance of conservative, moderate, and progressive parties and individuals was launched.

Vice President Maria Leonor G. Robredo, former senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV and human rights lawyer Jose Manuel I. Diokno, who have boldly criticized President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s administration, are among 1Sambayan’s official nominees for president and vice president for the 2022 polls, 1Sambayan convenor and former government official Albert F. Del Rosario said during the coalition’s virtual event on Saturday as the country commemorated Independence Day.

Senator Grace Poe-Llamanzares, Batangas Rep. Vilma- Santos Recto, and Party-list Rep. Eduardo C. Villanueva, who are considered moderates in the Congress, were also nominated by 1Sambayan, Mr. Del Rosario said.

He said there may be additions to the list, which was the result of 1Sambayan leadership’s consultations with various parties and political observers.

The coalition has said its candidates would challenge the Duterte administration’s bets in the upcoming polls.

Mr. Del Rosario said the group will announce its senatorial list in a few weeks.

Retired justice Antonio T. Carpio, the coalition’s lead convenor, earlier named Manila Mayor Franciso M. Domagoso and Senator Maria Lourdes S. Binay-Angeles as potential candidates for next year’s polls.

Mr. Domagoso wrote to the coalition “saying he wanted his name taken out of the list of nominees for president and vice president,” Mr. Carpio said during the event.

Ms. Binay-Angeles earlier said she would not run for a higher post in the upcoming elections, citing family reasons.

Ms. Robredo earlier belied claims of politicians that she already decided to run for a gubernatorial post, saying she is open to a possible presidential bid.

Mr. Trillanes has said he would run for president if Ms. Robredo decides not to run for the country’s top post.

Ms. Santos-Recto last year voted in favor of a counter-terrorism measure, which critics said could be used to harass dissenters and brand them as enemies of the state.

Senator Panfilo N. Lacson recently rejected a nomination by 1Sambayan, saying that participating in the coalition, whose members have challenged the country’s revised anti-terrorism law at the Supreme Court, would go against his principle because he championed the controversial measure in the Senate.

Mr. Villanueva, a leader of an influential Christian denomination in the Philippines, currently serves as a House deputy speaker. In 2017, he said Mr. Duterte should not be blamed for the rise of extrajudicial murders.

Ms. Poe-Llamanzares was one of the most preferred presidential candidates for the 2022 national elections, according to a survey by the Social Weather Stations.